Method of and apparatus for forming hats



April 7, 1942. G. clPRlANo l 2,278,865

METHOD. OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING HATS` Filed March 6. 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY April 7, 1942.

G. CIPRIANO METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING HATS Filed Maron 6, 1940 36 j/5 J2 Il 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvlsNToRv April 7, 1942.

es.e clPRlANo 2,278,865

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMI NG HATS Filed March 6, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVNToR kwaoG-o (/P/e/AA/o.

ATTORNEY April '7; 19.42.- G. clPRlANo 2,278,865 METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING HATS Filed Marh 6, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Sb J I"// INVENTOR- 6fm/avaro PAQ/fwd.

u 'ATTORNEY' Apiil 7, 1942- G. CIPRIANO.p 2,278,865

METHOD 0F 'AND APPAR-ATUS FOR FORMING HATS Filed March 6, 19,40 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I g l [III/lll l INVENTOR l 6fm/00u19 Pee/Ama Patented Apr. 7, 1942 l l vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD oF AND APPARATUS Fon FORMING HATs Gandolfo Cipriano, Dongan Hills, N. Y. Application March 6, 1940, SerialNo. 322,465

5 Claims.

The present invention relates to a process and to an apparatus for forming hats, especially hats of felted material.

The pro-cess is particularly adapted to hats, thev edge of the brim being finished or welted, valthough the process is also adapted to hats having a, brim in which the edge is raw or unfinished.

The invention has for its objects to produce a better formed hat with lessened cost of Iproduction. This is made possible by the order in which certain operations are performed; by the elimination of some of the steps heretofore found necessary and to the further fact that some of the steps of the process may rapidly and advantageously be effected by mechanical devices.

Felted hats are manufactured from what ar known in the art as hat bodies or blanks, These blanks conform approximately to the size of the hat crown and roughly to the Width of the brim. In hats in which the brim in its nal state is pro,- vided .with what is known as aA raw edge, the width of the brim in the blank need not be very exact because in forming the hat from such a blank, the brim is out to the desired width after the crown has been blocked. f

In hats having a brim with a finished or Welted edge, however, somewhat greater accuracy of the width of the brim in the blank is desirable.

Since the present process and apparatus are especially adapted to the forming of hats from blanks Whose brim have a, finished or welted edge, it will conduce to the understanding of the present invention to first consider v'the steps now gen-` to even it as far as possible while maintaining the,-

correct width.

The next step consists in placing the hat in an oven to dry. The drying, however, causes some irregularity especially at the edges of the brim, and its width is sometimes changed during this drying step.

'Ihe next step consists in further treating oi the hat to remedy the irregularities due to the drying step. 'Ihe hat is placed on a woodenblock such as first used, a string is put around the hat to hold the crown irmly against/ the block, and some steam is applied to soften the brim, which is again manipulated -by hand to give it the properv'vidth. i

Various other operations are performed on the hat, such as pouncing, which is performed by hand with the use of ne sandpaper, and possibly greasing or waxing, the crown to give it smoothness. The brim of the hat is then ironed by hand to give it the correct shape and desired smoothness. Then the hat is trimmed, that is, the inside and outside bands are stitched on and the lining secured in place, if one be used.

It is to be noted that in the methods at present employed in finishing hats having a Welted edge brim, the blocking of the crown is the first stage in the operation. This method has probably been followed because in making hats having a raw edge brim such a method of procedure was logical vas the brim was subsequently cut to the correct size and Width;

In a hat blank in which the edge is welted, such edge constitutes what might be considered as a dimension determining factor. In the present process, therefore, this .dimensional factor is availed of. I thereforefirst conform the brim of the blank to the size and shape desired in the finished hat and While the brim is being rmly held in its conformed position, proceed with the blocking step.

A number of advantages flow from this new method of procedureand these advantages Will be better understood by describing the process in connection With one form of apparatus on which itmay advantageously be carried out.

Referring now to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine on which the process may be practiced;

Figure 2 is a View similar to Figure 1 but with parts in a different position;

Figure 3 is a part sectional, part elevational View on a larger scale than Figures 1 and 2 and showing the mechanism near the midportion of the machine;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a detail of the toggle mechanism for operating the presser fingers;

Figure 6 is a part sectional, part-elevational view taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 2|;

Figure 7 is a section taken along the line 'I-l of Figures 2 and 6;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the brim mold and parts associated therewith;

Figure 9 is a section on the line S-9 of Figure 8;

Figures 10, 11 and 12 are details of modifications of the brim mold and presser ring; and

Figure 13 is a portion of a flanging machine.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the machine is supported on a base 2 on the top of which is a hollow steam chamber 4 which supports a circular plate 5 (see also Figure 3). Shafts 6 on opposite sides of the machine shown in Figures 3 and 4 are supported on the plate 5, these shafts having shoulders 'I which bear against the plate 5, the reduced portions 8 passing through members I projecting downwardlyv At the upper ends the shaftsfrom the plate '5. t are connected by a cross-beam I2'which supports a number of movable parts to be immediately described. Centrally of they beam I2 is a guide block I4 through which slides a member I the outer edge of which is provided with teeth I6- engaged bya pinion Ilsupported on a stub shaftrcarried by the beam4 I2.` A bevelled gear I8., also `supported on thersame stubshaft, is engaged by a bevelled pinion I9 secured to a shaft 20, the latter beingsupported by blocks 2l` secured tothe beam I2.. The. outer end of the shaft carries a hand wheel 22.

Fromv the mechanism so far described, it is.

The presser lingers to which reference .has just.

been made lare preferably eight in number and are indicated generally bythereference character 2i?.v Their detailed constructionwll best be understood by references tok Figures 3 and 5.

These presser fingers have. rubber ends 29 and aresupported by the4 slide I5 in such amanner.

as to permit their. movement outwardly by parallel motion. For this purpose a toggle mechanism is` provdedwhich is constructed as follows:

Secured to the slide I5 near its lowerend. is aplate 3i). Another plate 32 is alsosecured. to theslide I5 and spacer rods 34 are boltedto the plates 30 andv 32 as clearly shown in Figure 3. A number ofplates 36 project from the underside of the plate 32, and to each of these plates is pivoted a link 3S and alink 40; The opposite end of each link 4i! is pivoted near its upper end to a presser finger 28. The opposite end of each link 33 is pivoted to a collar 42 secured to each presser nger 2B. A spiral compression spring 44 extends between each collar 42 and a shoulder 45 on a presser linger 28. The plate 30 has secured to its underside a plurality of lugs 45, one for each of the presser ngers 2B. To the lower end of each of these lugs is pivoted a link 48, the opposite ends oi all of these links 48 being pivoted to the lower ends of the presser fingers. By the above described mechanism the presser fingers are capable of` parallel motion when pressure is applied Yto Iplate through the slide I5 andwhen the lower ends ofthe presser fingers meet. with, resistance suflicient to cause the springs 44 to be compressed. l

In the carryingfout` of my improved process,

the presser fingers above' describediserveto.ap-

CSI

ply yielding pressure to an inner zone of the brim of a hat being treated, which inner zone surrounds the hat crown but is spaced slightly from it. In order that these presser fingers may function in the manner indicated, the hat brim must be supported. The support in the present apparatus consists of a brim shaping and edge conning mold 50. This mold is shown in section in Figure3, and the right hand portion is shown on an enlarged scale in Figure 9. The surface 52 of this mold conforms to the shape which the brim of the hat is to assume in its final form. The surface 52 terminates in a circumferential groove 54 into which groove the welted edge of the hat brim ts. The central aperture of the mold is of such size that the particular hat being treated exactly lits into this central aperture when the hat crown is being blocked. It is therefore necessary to provide molds of different sizes for different sized hats andrfor hats `of..diffe'rent brim widths. It is also to b'e particularly noted'lthatithe surface 52 as measured from the edge of the aperture to the outside ofithe, circumferential groove 54 is` ofV a widthequal to that of thebrim of the hat to be formedon the particular mold.

TheV mold is also provided with a vertical wall 53 of such thickness that its outer circumferenlial edge 54 .is of asize to enable the proper width of the brim .to be :determined when the hat blank .is within the. brim mold and the brim edge` is made to coincide with the edge 54.

With the apparatusso far described, it will be in order to refer to the preliminary steps in the processof formingVv a yhat in vaccordance with the present invention. At the initial stage the slide I5 is in its upper position as shown in Figure 2, and the ,hattobeformed is placed on the mold, withv the crown projecting, through the aperture in the mold, the-crown at that time beingsomewhat irregular in outline as shown in FigureY 3. It is tobe understood, however, that at this.Y time the'presser lingers as shown in Figure-3 are'not in their operative position there shown, but the whole slide is raised as previously stated. The hat brim is then conformed to the.

mold. In.' order thatthis may bedone conveniently and accurately), the presser lingers are moved to position to engage the hat brim. It is seldom that the brim can immediatelybe conformed to the mold because of irregularities in the brim. The function of the presser fingers is to hold the brim yieldingly while any adjustments are made to make thebrim even all around, and this evening process is facilitated by the circumferential edge 54. The brim is manipulated by hand until the edgeiofA the brim coincides with the edge 54 and'lif some'pulling is necessary, the fingers r`28 yield under the pulling action' but due to the-toggle action the `brim is held in the position towhich it has been pulled. Theedge 54 acts asa gaugeand the adjustment of the brim to conform. to `this gauge isreadily accomplished. When the ycorrect gauge of briml has beeny effected, the brim is pusheddown into contact with the surface 52 of the moldy and at this stage the hat and presser fingers are in the positions. shown in Figure 3; other parts, yhowever, which will immediately bedescribed, are not inthe positions shown in this-figure, at this time.

Should` it be found necessary to stretch the brimy somewhat more thanV usual, the hand wheel 22isgiven. a partial 'turn in the direction which i willV causetheslide to-y be. moved :downwardly and,

the presser fingers 29 will under this action all be moved outwardly together. The slide is held in its moved position by a pawl 90 supported from a beam I2, the pawl engaging the teeth I6 of the slide I5.

After the hat has been conformed to the brim mold and the yielding pressure has been applied about an inner zone, by the presser fingers 28, suitable pressure is applied to an outer zone of the brim beyond the area of the inner zone. This pressure is effected by a saddle 56, Figures 3, 8 and 9. This saddle is in the form of a ring and preferably for convenience in manipulation, this ring is split along a diameter as shown/in Figure 8. The outer surface 58 of this saddle, Figure 9, coincides with the vertical wall 53 of the mold 50 and when suitable pressure is applied to this saddle the hat brim is held in an outer zone for further operations. Pressure is applied to the saddle 56 by means of a pressure ring 60, which ring has an aperture of such size that it can clear the presser fingers and while not in use is supported by the plate 32, through means of hooks 62. For this purpose the pressure ring 60 is provided with a number of gaps or recesses 63, Figure 8.

At this stage of the process the parts" are in the position depicted in Figure 3. The pressure is applied to the pressure ring 69 through means of screws 64 carried by pivoted arms 65 supported for rotation on the shafts 6.

During the time that the hat brim is being gauged and conformed to the mold, the arms 65 are swung aside so that they do not interfere with convenient manipulation of the hat brim.

So far the steps of the process have consisted in conforming the hat brim to a brim shaping and edge confining mold, applying yielding pressure to the brim about an inner zone, then applying pressure to the brim in an area constituting an outer zone.

It is to be noted that this latter pressure being controlled by the screws 64 is sufficient to very rmly hold a hat brim between the mold surface and the saddle.

The next step in the process is the blocking of the hat crown while the brim is firmly held by the saddle 56, pressure ring 60 and screws 64.

During this blocking operation, the slide I carrying the presser fingers is lifted to its upper position shown in Figure 2 and a wooden block of correct size and shape is placed by hand within the hat crown. Then a frame member 66, pivoted to swing about the right hand shaft 6 as shown in Figures 2 and 4, is swung from the position shown in Figure 4 to the position shown in Figures 2 and 6. The opposite end of the frame 66 is provided with a hinged portion 68, which when swung from the dotted line position in Figure 6 to the full line position there shown, serves to lock the frame in position. The frame 66 carries two toothed racks 18, Figures 6 and 7, each of which racks is engaged by a pinion 12, said pinions being supported on a shaft 14 suitably supported by the frame 66. The shaft 14 may be rotated by handle 15, thereby causing the pinions 12 to move the racks 10 up and down. These racks carry at their lowerl portions a bar 16. This bar is apertured as shown in Figure 6 and through each aperture passes a short shaft 18. These shafts support a disc 80, Figures 4 and '7, preferably of metal. Riveted or. otherwise suitably connected to said disc 89 is a rubber disc s 92 which is designed to bear directly against the hat block as shown in Figures 7 and 9. Be-

shape and size.

tween the bar 16 and the disc 80 are interposed springs 86. As the block 84 is forced into the hat crown under pressure applied to the disc 89 and rubber disc 82, the crown of the hat is slightly stretched. It is also given its correct During this operation, steam may be admitted to the chamber 4 through the steam pipe 81 controlled by the valve 8B, as clearly indicated in Figure 1.

It is to be noted that due to the rm holding of the brim by the saddle 56 andpressure ring 60 and stretching of the hat by the block, a very sharp line is produced at the meeting of the crown and brim since the edge of the hat mold at this point indicated by the reference character 89, Figure 9, is sharply defined.

There are a number of advantages which flow from this fact. In the first place the hat is given the correct shape and size to a greater degree of accuracy than in processes heretofore employed in the forming of hats of this type. Secondly, the leather sweat band can be stitched in more accurately, and lastly the band outside of the hat is more accurately fitted.

By reason of the method outlined by which the brim of the hat is first conformed to a brim shaping mold, the correct width of the brim and the correct width of the welt. is obtained.

The brim mold 52 as shown in Figure 9 has a groove 54 so situated that the welted edge of the hat is formed on the upper side of the brim. It is obvious that this welted edge may be formed on. both sides of the brim or on the lower side as desired.

In Figure 10, I have shown a modified form of mold and saddle 56 whereby the groove 92 is formed at the lower edge of the saddle 56, the mold also containing the groove 54 which is of less depth than in the construction shown in Figure 9.

In Figure 11 the groove 92 is shown in the saddle 56 only.

In Figure 12 no groove is shown. Such a construction is suitable for hats in which the edge is not provided with a welt.

After the hat has been formed by the process heretofore described, it, together with the wooden block may be put into what may be considered a modified brim flanging machine. 'I'his machine is in general similar to that shown in my Patent 1,991,921, granted February 19, 1935. In the present instance, however, the' machine of said patent is slightly modified, specific features of its modification being shown in Figure 13 which is a section of a portion of the hat flanging members. Referring to said figure, the brim mold 50 is similar in shape to the brim mold previously described. Since, however, the flanging operationv acts to iron the brim and dry the same, a heating element 94, which may be similar to the heating element described in said patent, is introduced within the recess 96 of the brim mold. A similarv heating element 98 is provided adjacent the saddle 56. The brim mold and saddle in this fianging mechanism may have the modifications shown in Figures 10, 11 and 12, depending on the type of the hat which is being formed.

What I claim is:

1. The method of forming a hat which consists in pressing parts of the marginal portion of an appropriate blank into yielding frictional contact with opposed parts of a brim-mold, the parts thus subjected to pressure being distributed throughout a zone extending around the mold but spaced at a material distance inwardly ofits outer margin, then adjusting the positions of portions of the part ofthe blank intended .to serve as the brim of the hat to an extent such as to .bring them into a desired brim-forming relationship with respect to the mold bythe application of force sufficient to overcome the yielding frictional contact to which such portions are subjected, then pressing and unyieldingly holding against a peripheral brim-forming surface portion of said mold a portion of said blank `extending about the zone of application of yielding pressure, and finally forming the crown of the hat bythe application of means adapted to forcibly extend the inner unformed portion of the blank into space rendered accessible by an opening bounded by the inner margin of the mold to the extent permitted by the unyieldingly held peripheral portion of the brim and to shape and iinish the same.

2. Those steps in the process of forming a felt hat from a blank, which consists in yieldingly holding the blank in Contact with the brim forming mold at a substantial distance from the brim edge conforming the brim of the blank to the size and shape desired in the finished hat while thus yieldingly held, subsequently, rmly holding another portion .of the brim so conformed and blocking the crown While the brim is thus Iirmly held.

3. Those steps in the process of forming a felt hat from a blank, which consists in rst applying the blank to a brim shaping mold, then applying yielding pressure at a plurality of loca- 4tionsto an inner zone of the brim ,surrounding the `crown and spaced Lfrom it, conforming the brim to the .shape and size of the mold Awhile the blank is subjected to said yielding pressure applying pressure to the outer zone of the brim beyond the area of the inner zone and Subscqnently blocking the crown while the brim is held by the pressure 'applied at .the outer zone.

4. Those steps in the process of `forming a felt hat from a blank, which consists in applying a blank to a brim shaping mold, applying yielding pressure to an inner zone of the brim surrounding `the crown, applying pressure to an outer Zone of the brim beyond the area of the inner zone .while the brim is held at the inner zone, relieving the pressure at the inner zone and subsequently blocking the crown while the brim is held by the pressure applied at the outer zone.

5. In a hat forming machine, a brim mold of the size and shape of the brim of the hat to be formed, devices in the form of yielding presser ngers yadapted to engage the brim of a hat adjacent to butspaced from the .hat crown While the brim is in contact with the mold, means for engaging the outer portions of the brim beyond the Zone .engaged by the said ngers, while the brim is being held against the brim mold by the fingers, and means for disengaging the yielding pressure fingers from the hat brim while the outer portion of the brim is held against the mold.

GAN DOLFO CIPRIANO 

